The present invention relates to a pedal device for a musical instrument such as a bass drum, a high-hat and the like played by stepping on a footboard.
A player plays a bass drum or a high-hat by operating a pedal device by foot. For example, in a pedal device for a bass drum, when a footboard is stepped on by a player, a cam and a shaft are rotated by a chain, and a beater fixed to the shaft hits a batter head of the bass drum. At this time, the shape of the cam largely affects the feeling during the stepping-on operation on the footboard. Thus, some pedal devices have been proposed that are capable of changing the feeling during the stepping-on operation on the footboard in accordance with the preference of the player.
A pedal device disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,714,701 is provided with two split cams and an adjustment screw for adjusting relative positions of the split cams. A threaded hole is formed in each of split surfaces of the split cams, and the adjustment screw is screwed in the threaded hole in each of the split cams. According to the cam structure disclosed in this document, by adjusting the relative positions of the split cams by operating the adjustment screw, the feeling during the stepping-on operation is changed.
A pedal device disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,903,257 is provided with a cam core, a cam member rotationally connected to a lower end of the cam core, and a positioning member. The positioning member is rotationally connected to an upper end of the cam member and is formed to be capable of being engaged with the cam core. According to the cam structure disclosed in this document, a rotation angle of the cam member with respect to the cam core is adjusted by changing engagement positions of the cam core and the positioning member. As a result, the feeling during the stepping-on operation is changed.
A pedal device disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 8-123407 is configured such that a feeling adjusting member is removably attached on an outer peripheral surface of a cam. According to the pedal device disclosed in this document, the feeling during the stepping-on operation is changed by attaching/detaching the feeling adjusting member or by changing the attachment position of the feeling adjusting member.
A pedal device disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,172,291 is provided with a plurality of types of cam members with different cam shapes and is configured such that the plurality of types of cam members can be freely switched and attached to a cam main body. According to the pedal device disclosed in this document, the number of variations in feeling during the stepping-on operation is the same as the number of types of the cams.
However, in the case of U.S. Pat. No. 5,714,701 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,903,257, the configuration for adjusting the relative positions of the split cams and the configuration for changing the rotation angle of the cam member with respect to the cam core are complicated.
On the other hand, in the case of Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 8-123407 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,172,291, the cam structure is relatively simplified, but a series of operations for changing the attachment position after the feeling adjusting member is attached to the cam or a series of operations for selecting one of the plurality of types of cam members and attaching it to the cam main body are cumbersome and troublesome for users. Moreover, in addition to components constituting the pedal device, the feeling adjusting member or the plurality of types of cam members are needed. Thus, there are problems that storage of components requires labor, components can be lost easily, and the like.